


i have been waiting for you

by clizzyhours



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: 2.20 au, ALSO battle couple, AND implied homophobia, Aline's POV, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant to a Degree, F/F, Internalized Homophobia, Lots and lots of Pining, Mentions of Blood, Mentions of Violence, Mutual Pining, Pining, Weapons, alcohol mention, aline gets in her head a lot, aline loves her sword, aline/carolyn mention, claia and malec reference, cursing, everyone can see it, izzy pines but aline does not Know That, lesbian!aline, me trying to breakdown shadowhunter culture:, pov changes somewhat, run-on's but also my style at times lmao, she thinks a lot, timeline is all over the place blame the show, unedited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 11:11:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19886650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clizzyhours/pseuds/clizzyhours
Summary: Aline and Izzy throughout the years or the tale of childhood friendship, pining, and a heartfelt moment.





	i have been waiting for you

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Violence, Blood Mention, Alcohol Mention. Language. Implied Homophobia/Internalization. If I am missing anything, feel free to let me know. 
> 
> thank you so much! i hope you enjoy. for the shwlw bingo. team orange baby. prompt: pining best friends / everyone can see it but them trope. please check out the glorious fics! :)

Aline sees her in the large spacious training room where endless punching bags and gymnasium mats are lined up on the cold floor. 

In a flurry of a dark hair and a flash of tan skin, the girl, who is quite pretty she can’t help but note, is attempting to kick a bag just so. Her footwork is slightly off, the execution nearly precise. 

She watches the girl try again and she slips, her footwork off once more as she goes sprawling across the mat. 

Aline descends into the room, the wooden door shutting loudly behind her. An almost ominous sound, she thinks.

The girl is huffing, heavily breathing on the floor and she senses the utmost frustration directed.

“You’re footwork is all-wrong, but it’s less sloppy than what I have seen compared to our fellow classmates.”

The girl’s eyes narrow imperceptibly.

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” She asks, fury broiled.

“Compared to the rest of our classmates? Yes,” Aline murmurs calmly. The girl is still staring at her with a scathing glare but has softened slightly, one of her dark eyebrows furrowed considerably.

It’s a remarkable change in a span of five seconds. Perhaps the girl isn’t used to compliments?

“Come here,” She finds herself saying as the girl continues to stare.

There’s no argument but a silent question in her eyes as the girl gets up and moves closer, footsteps lithe and quiet like any older but trained Shadowhunter. 

“Interesting,” Aline hums under her breath. 

“Your stance is slightly crooked when you attempt to execute your kicking move against the punching bag. It’s not bad but if you twist the wrong way, you could end up injuring yourself,” She says as the girl stands inches from her.

“Is that so?” The girl murmurs. 

“Yes,” Aline says again and changes her position on the mat.

“Your stance should be like this,” She says as the girl watches. In a quick but expertly fluid motion, she brings her foot against the punching bag. “And you should finish like this.”

“Can I see that again?” The girl demands.

Aline nods and repeats the demonstration. Her eyes are narrowed as she watches Aline. She can’t help but feel a surge of warmth enveloping her inside - the act of being watched, she wonders?

She’s not typically surprised by watchers - used to her mother’s cold instructions and her endless teachers training and praise and yet the enigma of a girl staring at her so intensely is making her feel different.

It’s strange and scary all in one. 

The girl copies her stance and practices the motion.

“Yes, exactly like this,” Aline says, dark eyes watching the motions carefully. The girl is doing better.

Not perfect but she will be.

Aline finds herself moving closer. “May I?,” She asks and the girl nods.

Her hand is around the girl’s ankle carefully and she murmurs: “like this.”

They practice slowly but together and when her foot makes contact with the right strike, Aline lets go.

“Just like that,” She praises, feeling proud and conflicted at once - something to be studied at a later time.

“I did it!” The girl sings, her dark ponytail flying with her energetic movements.

You did, she thinks.

“I am Izzy,” the girl suddenly says and Aline blinks in surprise.

“Maryse and Robert Lightwood’s daughter?” 

She can’t help but feel surprised by that. Her mother is rather a fan of lecturing in one her endless Clave assemblies in the Accords Hall about the importance of bettering oneself as a Shadowhunter and well, her sentiments towards the Lightwood’s have always been noticeable. She’s quite palpable in her non-affections for them.

Aline loves and admires her mother in many ways but she doesn’t always agree with how she approaches in her methods.

Although the way she can play the Alicante game - a battle of strategy and sit and power, is incredible.

“Yes,” Izzy says, her face less victorious and soft now. There’s an undercurrent of danger in her tone.

Okay, Aline thinks.

“I didn’t know that,” She murmurs. Aline vaguely knew about the Lightwood’s already and their family tree in passing. Two children and a recently adopted son named Jonathan - Jace(?) who hails from a mysterious background.

And her mother’s evident animosity towards them.

“You did well,” She says, smoothing back the probable conflict.

Her face is still guarded but there’s warmth inside of her voice when she says thank you.

“And what about you?” Izzy asks. 

“What about me?”

“Your name?” She laughs at her confusion. It’s quick and light and okay, no, that’s a thought for a different day.

“I’m Aline Penhallow,” Aline states like a fact. A truth. She’s a Penhallow after all.

“Jia Penhallow’s daughter?” 

“Yes,” Aline confirms.

Izzy makes a small noise, a quick hmm. 

“Okay,”

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

It’s the first time they meet but it certainly won’t be the last.

—

The Academy is surprisingly enormous, an easy place to get lost in with endless rooms and doors in the heart of Alicante. Although there are a small amount of students at the Shadowhunter Academy, it can rather sporadic to see classmates. Schedules change fast and many students are at different levels of learning and training wise.

She sees Izzy throughout the halls and in between classes and even in the cafeteria next to boys - one dark haired and lanky, the other one whose blond and wears a tightly guarded grimace. Her brothers, she presumes.

Aline isn’t sure why she doesn’t approach her but she looks in her direction quite frequently. 

Izzy becomes an almost fixated presence and she still can’t conceive this irrationality. 

It isn’t until a few weeks into the cooler autumn months where a glory of orange and brown and red take over the environment, making Alicante almost brighter and less icy as everything slowly dies that she interacts with her again.

Her mother is having an assembly again - a Clave mandated one for young Shadowhunters to attend and listen. Something about Valentine, this time again? Or maybe the dangers of Downworlders and how it’s their duty to kill demons and - 

Yeah. Her mother really likes her assemblies.

Izzy is somewhere towards the back row of the opaque Accords Hall; old architecture blessed by Raziel dating back to centuries past with vast red drapes of Shadow World symbols and runes descending down. Lights are illuminated, giving the spacious hall a feeling of openness. Columns have intricate warding in place from beginning to end - the endless scarlet red carpet where a plethora of Shadowhunters have assembled for parties, weddings, and important occasions. 

She is standing with her brothers and Aline can’t help but note the height difference between the three of them. Izzy is short in comparison as her older brothers are beginning to tower and it’s almost cute, she thinks.

Other Shadowhunters have filled the room of various ages and ethnicities, faces neutral and grim as their stances are ramrod in a militarily-like position. 

Ah right. The good ole Shadowhunters do not feel emotions take. She remembers that spiel quite well.

Her eyes keep seeking out Izzy throughout the assembly despite doing her utmost best to focus on the assembly.

She’s laughing quietly in between intervals, hand covering her mouth as her brothers smirk.

It’s charming.

Aline draws her eyes back and refocuses her stance, mimicking her fellow Shadowhunters. 

And yet, she finds herself looking at Izzy again. Her pretty dark hair and the curve of her neck and oh, By The Angel, she’s looking back. Retreat! Her mind screams. Izzy is glancing at her with an amused expression.

By The Angel. 

Aline awkwardly shuffles and nearly stumbles into an older Shadowhunter next to her, eyes widening at her accidental incident.

Please tell me that my mother did not see, she thinks.

She looks up after righting herself, Jia’s pretty features distracted by another Shadowhunter.

Izzy is looking at over her still. She mouths ‘are you all right?’

Aline pastes a quick smile on which is more manic than friendly, nods her head yes.

Oh, oh, this is bad, she thinks.

—

Aline isn’t sure when it all begins to change.

The months begin to roll together in between training, academics, and finding herself entangled with the Lightwood’s.

It’s quick. Each day, she and Izzy find themselves gravitating towards one another in the cafeteria where trays of non-appetizing food are served, sitting together.

Izzy’s brothers are also there. A lot. She also has gotten to know them quite a bit. Alexander Lightwood, Alec for short, is solemn and quiet but when he speaks, she can see the fondness he has for siblings.

Jace, on the other hand is obnoxious and irritating and makes her want to pull her hair out.

She has never met anyone so infuriating and so cocky! 

“You!” She demands at Jace. His blond hair is disheveled and he’s looking at her cockily. 

Izzy is staring at them amusedly in between bites of food. Alec is looking at them pointedly and nods to himself as if he made a silent decision to stay out of it. 

“Me?” He mocks concernedly.

“You stole the goal in the strategy game!” She hisses, her eyes flashing furiously. 

You see - she and Jace have a bit of a rapport in competitions, sports, and every other Shadowhunter training known to angel.

She has always been consistently winning for past consecutive weeks and today, Jace Wayland-Lightwood, stole her win.

She is furious and okay, maybe yeah, she’s afraid this might reflect badly on her family as well.

Jia Penhallow wants perfection and so does her father who is busy running the Beijing Institute. 

In the Shadow World, strategies games nearly reflect the world and losing? Losing is never an option.

Shadowhunters who lose get a mark on their record and are sent for heavy discipline.

And By The Angel, she knows that her mother will find a way to make this all vanish instantly.

But it still doesn’t change the fact she’s angry at everyone and these goddamn rules and she barely knows what on going with herself half of the time.

So yeah, she really wanted the win.

“It’s called winning fair and square,” Jace hisses back.

“It’s cheating!” She nearly shrieks, her words quickly evaporating at Shadowhunters beginning to look at them curiously.

Izzy’s smile fades and she can see concern forming. Alec looks startled but she sees a knowing look in his eyes and By The Angel, she can’t.

Jace is astonished and murmurs, “Aline, it’s just a game. Are you - “

Aline can barely manage a response before she hurries out of the cafeteria, sprinting out of the Academy and into the cool atmosphere.

She breathes heavily and places herself against the wall before sliding to the ground, repressing a sob.

She doesn’t - she can’t. 

A soft noise escapes her and tears are dripping until she feels a ghost of a presence next to her.

“Aline?” Izzy whispers, sounding so full of concern and compassion that it’s her undoing.

She begins to sob in earnest and Izzy slides down next to her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

It’s a blessing and a curse.

Aline doesn’t understand but she does and she knows she can’t - feel this way but oh, she does.

But she knows how Shadowhunters are about things they consider “unseemly.”

And this - it’s - it would be one of them. Her liking - 

Izzy whispers words of comfort and she finds herself falling into her arms, sobbing noisily.

They don’t speak of the instance again but in the following weeks, Izzy becomes a permanent shadow.

It torments her but she would never say that. And she can’t help but feel good in a sense like she’s no longer alone. 

She and Jace mend their conflict up and their rivalry slowly eases under Alec’s watchful eyes and Izzy’s intense gaze.

But her and Izzy? It’s a beginning all over again.

—

By the end of the year, the Lightwood’s and her are preparing to say their goodbyes as they return to their respective homes for the summer. 

Summer is hot and heady, the humidity turned up high for Alicante as the sun shines.

Their field day training (and nearing their finals) are about to occur. 

“I can’t,” Aline hisses at Izzy who’s throwing her an excited look.

She’s used to Izzy’s rebellious streaks by now.

“It’s not the first time we have snuck out,” Izzy points out, her dark eyes pleading.

And doesn’t Izzy’s eyes reveal a lot? She thinks.

Okay, yeah, this isn’t the first time she and Izzy have snuck out or her and the three other Lightwood’s.

“But you want me to forge my mother’s signature,” Aline whispers-shouts.

“Missing one field day of training won’t kill you or me or even Alec and Jace.”

Forging her mother’s signature? That’s risky and if she were to be found out, the punishment would be severe.

“It’ll be fun!” Izzy cajoles.

Aline shakes her head no.

“Please?” Izzy asks, smiling widely and lightening up her face.

By The Angel, damn.

“Okay,” Aline concedes and in a quick span of time, she and Izzy are running into the great outdoors. Jace and Alec had vanished off somewhere and frankly, she’s not too concerned about that. She’s delighted in her solitude with Isabelle. 

The sun is blazing and Izzy is shrugging off her jacket, revealing a navy tank top that emphasizes.

“What are you doing?” She blurts out.

“What do you think I am doing?” Izzy teases. “It’s hot, silly.”

Aline doesn’t know what to say to that so she gulps and quickly looks away.

“Aline? Are you okay?”

“Of course, I am okay.”

“You seem flustered.”

“It’s just the heat,” Aline says carefully and moves around.

“Okay,” Izzy says, quiet for a quick moment before broaching another subject.

“Are you happy to be going home?”

Aline’s ponders for a minute. “Yes and no.”

“Oh?”

“I am looking forward to seeing my home again and the city and culture but I’ll miss the people I have met here. You. The not-so perfection expectations I have grown from.” 

It seems like every time she and Izzy are alone, she finds herself revealing the most intimate details about herself. Vulnerability is a weakness, something that Jia drilled into her and yet with Izzy, it feels okay. The world is still and she feels like she can breathe.

“I get that,” Izzy says, considering.

“I love my brothers but I don’t miss my mother’s expectations. It’s just so difficult - it’s like I can never measure up to her standards. They don’t understand.”

“Izzy Lightwood, you’re one of the most fierce persons I have the privilege of knowing. You are so much better than the majority of our classmates and you bring so much happiness to my - our lives,” Aline declares, smiling at Izzy. “Don’t let your mother ruin that for you.”

Izzy’s quiet again, her words sinking in. 

“Thank you, Aline,” She says softly, a hint of something in her voice. Something that Aline can’t quite make out.

“You are so good and so strong, Aline. More than you realize. I’ll miss you so much,” Izzy says, looking at Aline carefully. Scrutinizing her? “Promise me you’ll write and call. I expect fire messages and letters and a visit.”

“That’s an awful lot of demands, Iz,” Aline says, the nickname slipping out unconsciously.

Izzy doesn’t seem to realize or if she does, she keeps to herself. She’s smiling widely; teeth and all. 

“Demands? I call that being best friends.”

“Best friends?”

“Yes; we are best friends. Deal with it,” Izzy says, sticking her tongue out.

Aline has never had a best friend and with the feelings she has - something she’s still terrified to examine.

“You’re rather childish, you know?”

“And what about it? I have so much fun with you,” Izzy replies. She’s stretching and Aline can see a flash of her stomach.

It’s a lot in this moment. The exposed skin and her declaration and just uh.

“I have fun with you too,” Aline says, approaching closer. The ground is hot and the sun is making her feel lethargic in the heat as she sits down next to her.

“Good.”

“Yeah?”

Izzy murmurs a mmm hmm, tipping her head back and bathing in the sunlight.

She looks at peace and Aline finds herself wanting to tuck the strand of Izzy’s hair back.

She pushes the urge down and plops down onto the green grass, speckles of dirt and blades of grass appearing on her flimsy shirt.

It’s a good moment and it’s one she’ll think of in the years to come.

—

Throughout the years, many letters and fire messages and phone calls are exchanged.

Izzy is nothing but persistent after all. And well? Aline, herself, recognizes a good thing when she sees it.

They are best friends.

They see each other at the Academy laughing and training and fighting together until they graduate, time occupied with one another in a series of action.

Aline attends Izzy’s rune ceremony and it was quite a shock to see her wearing the angelic rune on her chest, curving just so. Her dress shocked the gawking uptight Shadowhunter’s and god, isn’t that Izzy in a nutshell?

And By The Angel, she still has no idea how she made it through that.

Izzy attends her ceremonies and they continue their correspondences and she meets Carolyn and everything feels okay until Jia Penhallow becomes Consul, the world is drastically altered.

They move to Alicante permanently - Beijing lost in the past but Izzy and her brothers are now in New York with very little ties to Alicante.

Life changes fast, Aline thinks. 

Communication between her and the Lightwood’s grows fraught. The New York Institute seems to be under watched and she still hasn’t figured out why yet. 

She hasn’t heard back from Izzy and it scares her. Is she okay? She wonders and wonders and wonders.

Alec and Jace are also silent ghosts - messages unreturned. 

She’s barred from Portaling.

And Aline? She finds herself under Clave command, following into soldier mode and doing her best in quiet moments. Consul Jia Penhallow puts her to work and Aline knows she is one of the best.

Carolyn with her pretty dark skin and eyes and curls is now gone. Her laugh was exuberant and her intelligence rivaled Isabelle’s and she made Aline feel at ease.

She was different from Izzy. More quiet and more soft, her compassion worn on her sleeve. They shared similarities and god, that’s something she refuses to think of.

And now? She’s gone.

Aline feels her loss keenly like she did with Izzy’s.

Alicante is so much colder without anyone familiar. The atmosphere is tense and chilled - stoic Shadowhunters everywhere she goes.

It’s monotony and she’s going out of her mind.

Chaos is unleashed with Jocelyn Fray’s daughter miraculous return, Valentine’s godawful return as well, and the Mortal Cup.

—

Sebastian Verlac is missing.

Her cousin is missing and she’s panicking, the last few weeks hellish on her.

The New York Institute is on locked down. The Lightwood’s are unresponsive despite Alec Lightwood’s whole grand wedding scheme turned to kissing the warlock Magnus Bane and yeah, okay, she didn’t see that one coming. Alicante isn’t one for ‘gossip’ but they sure love discussing the Lightwood’s betrayal to Raziel and the Angels and everything else.

Shadowhunter society makes her want to scream.

She’s ecstatic for Alec, however, and it's something she turns over in her mind, ruminating about the possibility of coming out. 

Right now? No.

Alicante is up in a roar and there’s a plethora of destruction in the Shadow World. Missing Shadowhunters? Missing Downworlders? 

Every other hour, there’s an alert flashing on Alicante’s screens about some pressing urgency.

Aline is exhausted, stressed, and angry by everything.

When she finally gains the clearance to Portal to London, she is thrilled.

Sebastian’s apartment is a mess with everything ransacked, items spilling with shards of glass scattered. It’s awful. The London Institute has zero answers and is only marginally faring better than Alicante.

So her investigation in London was for nothing, but that’s okay, she tells herself again and again. 

Because if she doesn’t? She feels like she’ll lose it.

New York is next on her list and when she Portals in, the New York Institute is crawling with busy Shadowhunter soldiers. Alec Lightwood is in charge, standing tall and proudly next to his sister Isabelle. Jace and a red-haired girl, she presumes is the in-famous Clarissa Fairchild-Morgernstern. 

By The Angel, she has missed a lot.

Isabelle dark hair is curled, cascading down gently. Her lips are very red and Aline remembers Isabelle whispering in the dark of the night about cosmetics and makeup and her mother. She’s wearing tall heeled boots and her ensemble - it’s just so very much like Izzy.

She sees Alec gently smiling at her, a knowing twinkle in his hazel eyes.

Izzy who has changed and has not all at the same time.

They are still friends? She hopes. She prays.

Aline makes her way over a wide smile and envelops her. Her hair smells faintly of rose oil and the warmth of Izzy’s body makes her feel at ease.

The hug lingers and when she lets go, she feels a sense of loss.

Her hug with Alec Lightwood is quick and she whispers a thank you to him for everything.

For the courage to be brave in front of Shadowhunters and Maryse Lightwood and to make a ripple into the monotony of Shadowhunter culture.

For finding love.

For unintentionally letting her know that it’s okay, she’s a lesbian, it’s okay. Her liking girls? It’s not wrong. It’s everything.

Alec smiles and she can the immediate change in him from a lost, depressed boy to an authoritative and in-love man.

Time marches by. Shadowhunters are on the prowl mission wise. She tells herself she’s not here to get involved but to find her cousin. 

Aline is overwhelmed when she finds Sebastian Verlac. He’s alive and she’s so happy to see him despite his tense body language in the darkness of the night. His hand is resting on his weapon but relaxes when she begins conversing.

Being able to confess to her cousin about Carolyn when he brings her up? About Izzy?

Her heart feels lighter. 

He has a knowing smile on his face about Isabelle.

“You have a type, don’t you cousin?” He inquires.

Sebastian is different but she chalks it up to his new environment. He makes the request to visit their aunt and she nods.

They briefly hug and she leaves a fire message for Isabelle.

And what she doesn’t know? Isabelle has saved their countless letters and fire messages and when she sees Aline’s goodbye message, her mind is set.

—

Aline shows up to the New York Institute again as demons are swarming the area. Backup had been called and she had eagerly volunteered, determined to partake.

And this following fact: Valentine has the Mortal Cup. Her cousin is dead; being worn by Jonathan Morgernstern and the grief she refuses to feel yet. 

Shadowhunters and Downworlders have an alliance going on.

She doesn’t know what to make out of any of this. It’s a chaotic mess and she’s eager to use her double swords on demons.

Aline really does love her double swords.

New York is in a dire situation but when isn’t New York in a dire situation? 

Demons are circling the sky, leathery wings fluttering rapidly. Sparks of fire are spewed.

The Lightwood’s are moving together as a trio and she spies Clary Fray cradling a sword. 

Other Shadowhunters are lurking on the side, weapons prepared. 

She rushes forward and slides her sword forward into a ghastly creature. Blood is oozing out and she jabs her other sword into the thick sluice, digging into the heart.

The creature falls to the ground in an evaporated mess.

“That’s new,” Aline says.

Another creature is circling ahead and she sees Izzy swinging her whip around a wing, dragging the demon towards her as she struggles to yank it down from the sky in her black platform boots.

The creature is squawking and struggling to get free. Izzy’s teeth are gritted and she can see murder in her eyes. It’s exhilarating. Aline grabs the dagger from her thigh holster and throws it in a perfect arc at the demon.

Izzy whips a quick look in Aline’s direction and a smile is beginning to spread. She brings her sword into the demon and in a quick flurry, the creature is dead.

“Thank you,” Izzy murmurs as she walks closer to meet Aline. She can hear shouting and the changing of weaponry in the background, demons running amok.

“Of course,” Aline says, momentarily distracted by the blood on Izzy’s forehead.

Aline brings her hand forward, her fingers gently grazing Izzy’s wound.

“You’re bleeding,” She observes. Izzy rolls her eyes in amusement and she gives her best are-you-kidding-me-Aline-Penhallow smile.

They are so very close and she feels the ghost of her breath, smells blood and perfume and sweat.

Izzy is glancing at her with dark eyes, flickers to her lips.

Could it be - there’s no way, she thinks, floundering.

The tension is palpable and the moment breaks when she hears a scream. They gaze at one another once before Izzy grabs Aline’s hand, rushing her forward to the disturbed air. 

They fight together in tandem and it’s so easy, reminiscent of their Academy days.

Aline brings her sword down as Isabelle utilizes from whip to staff, coming and breaking together to defeat the demons.

It feels never-ending.

A yell pierces the atmosphere and she sees the Lightwood’s exchange a look. Aline nods once to Izzy, her eyes searching for something - anything.

A moment doesn’t arrive when Izzy and Alec Portal out. She watches mournfully as they disappear, descending for a beach to find the ultimate source.

Aline remains behind because this is what she needs to do.

She fights with everything inside of her - her grief and anger mixing together from the past several weeks. Her pulsing feelings for Izzy rage underneath and she refuses to think of their silent goodbye.

Aline slices and dices and brings her swords together expertly. The battle rages on and she keeps going, enduring.

She is one of Alicante’s best.

It’s a blessing when the war ends. Fire messages appear and she can hear Shadowhunters calling out, joy among them.

Valentine is dead. 

The demon source has been contained.

Sebastian - no, Jonathan, has been captured.

She feels pure relief.

—

In the Hunter’s Moon, Aline wears a slinky red dress and a pair of dark, dark heels. Her makeup is perfect, matching her half up - half down curled hairstyle.

The atmosphere is loud and thriving with Shadowhunters and Downworlders. It’s exciting and it’s exactly what it should be. 

She smells beer and fresh food and hears loud music.

Her eyes scan the room again. Is she here? She wonders. 

Alec is cradling an alcoholic drink as he cozies up to Magnus against a wall.

Jace is nursing a drink at the bar and she can see Isabelle in a stunning red dress, her pin-straight hair sleek. She’s talking to Clary and a pretty dark-skinned woman - a werewolf named Maia, she vaguely recalls.

Aline waits a moment before making her way over, Izzy slowly turning to her. Clary excuses herself and goes near Maia, she thinks, their hand interlacing together.

Oh. She can’t help but smile.

It seems like everyone is finding their happy ending tonight and that’s such a ridiculously cliche thought, she internally rolls her eyes.

Izzy is looking at her intensely, as if she’s waiting for something. She almost wonders again.

They are on a tip of something, edging closer and closer together.

Isabelle suddenly moves closer to her and oh, she is kissing her. It’s passionate and slow and oh, this is happening.

How is this happening?

She can’t think and so she kisses back, sheer dizziness rushing through her. Oh, this is everything.

It’s yearning and pining and friendship all together as the years mix in. It’s that day in the hot Alicante sun, sitting on the meadow. It’s their first meeting and training together and their correspondences.

She kisses again and oh, this is everything indeed.

Izzy pulls back slightly and whispers, “I hoped but I was afraid.”

You shouldn’t have been, she thinks and realizes, she shouldn’t have been either.

Aline leans again and they kiss again under the vibrant atmosphere, music playing loudly as people cheer “to the Downworld! To the Shadowhunters!” in the background.

Somewhere, Alec is smiling at the display and leads Magnus to alley under a glow of pink and red lights.

He thinks finally for his sister and Aline, his childhood friend, and he looks at Magnus and sees his whole world.

Izzy kisses Aline once more in the Hunter’s Moon and takes her by the hand, leading her to a quiet corner.

“What are we doing?” She asks, laughing loudly.

“Dancing,” Isabelle says. She spins Aline around and around and around into the glorious hours of victory and night.

It’s a beginning for sure.


End file.
